In one fell swoop, NBC has canceled two of its sophomore series. The network has opted to not go through with third seasons of Marlon & Midnight, Texas.
Marlon got off to a solid ratings start in summer 2017. The sitcom, created by Marlon Wayans and Christopher Moynihan, became that summer’s No. 1 new scripted series on the Big 4 networks in 18-49 and total viewers. Marlon’s second season, which averaged 2.6 million viewers and a 0.6 rating in 18-49, was down significantly from Season 1. The series was loosely inspired by the real life of star Marlon Wayans and centered on a loving (but sometimes inappropriate) father committed to co-parenting his two kids with his very together ex-wife.
Like Marlon, Midnight, Texas also got off to a solid start when it began in the summer of 2017. The 10-episode first season ranked as the No. 1 broadcast drama series of the summer among adults 18-49. When the series was renewed for a 9-episode second season, NBC showed confidence in the series by shifting it from the summer to the fall, where it faced my competition from established series’ airing on Friday nights. Season to date, Midnight, Texas, which aired Fridays at 9 PM until shifting to 8 PM last week, has averaged 2 million viewers and a 0.4 in 18-49 (Live+Same Day), which was down from the Season 1 average. The series finale of the supernatural drama, which is based on the books by Charlaine Harris, airs this Friday.
In a bit of good news, producing studio Universal Television is shopping Midnight, Texas to other outlets so there is a chance that another network or service could be interested in the fan-favorite genre series. As for Marlon, it’s not being shopped elsewhere but co-creator Christopher Moynihan has an overall deal at Uni TV & has two new comedy series projects in contention for next season which include an untitled multi-camera half-hour family comedy with Jonathan Prince at Fox and an untitled comedy with Silberman brothers at NBC.
